ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships – Record number of entries

by ISAF on 8 Nov 2015 A record number of 80 nations will be in attendance at the 45th ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships in Langkawi, Malaysia at the end of the year after the conclusion of the Youth World Emerging Nations Program (ENP).

The 2015 ENP finished at the host venue of the 2015 Youth Worlds in Langkawi, rounding off a series of five clinics that also touched down in Fiji, Hungary, Mozambique and Antigua.

In total, 105 sailors and 48 coaches from 38 nations participated in the clinic, sailing in the Laser Radial, 420 and 29er and the success of the clinic has enabled the Youth Worlds to attract sailors from 80 countries, surpassing last year's record of 67.

Sailors were put through their paces by ISAF Nominated Experts, looking at techniques, rules tips as well as training sessions both on and off the water.

Five ISAF Nominated Experts delivered the ENP including Pedro Rodrigues (POR), Andrew Clouston (NZL), Rob Holden (RSA) and Tim Cross (GBR). The fifth expert, Eduardo Sylvestre of Brazil, has been selected to be the lead coach for the attending ENP sailors in Langkawi.

With a passion for sailing and spreading the sport Sylvestre commented, 'For me it has been a great opportunity to work with kids from all over the world in the Emerging Nations Program. Seeing lots of high potential sailors in these countries is great. I do believe that if we have more programs developing kids then we will have more sailors competing at a higher level; an opportunity that would be impossible if programs such as ENP did not exist.'

Sylvestre will be leading 42 sailors who have been awarded a Youth Worlds ENP Scholarship that will give them the funding and support they need for travelling and entering the event.

Nominated Expert, Tim Cross attended four clinics throughout 2015 and is eager to see how the sailors do when racing commences in Langkawi on 29 December. 'I am really excited to watch the ENP scholarship sailors perform with the standard of some of them being incredibly high.

'I do believe that we will see some of the sailors at the top of the overall results showing that the performance clinics really do allow the opportunity for sailors from emerging sailing nations to perform on the world stage.

'The sailors at all the clinics showed great appreciation for the opportunity the clinic's provide, being very aware that this is the first step towards realising their ultimate sailing dream.'

Sailors from 28 nations will be attending from the following regions thanks to ENP scholarships:

Americas
Antigua, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Ecuador, US Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos, Trinidad and Tobago

Africa
Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Mozambique, Seychelles, Tanzania

Asia
Chinese Taipei, Pakistan, Kuwait, Sri Lanka

Europe
Czech Republic, Cyprus, Slovakia, Latvia, Hungary

Oceania
Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Vanuatu

Langkawi, Malaysia is hosting the 45th edition of the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships from 27 December to 3 January 2016. More than 380 sailors from 80 sailing in more than 300 boats across nine disciplines will compete in Malaysia.